Will man who admitted to hitting Richmond bicyclist be charged with a crime?

RICHMOND, Va (WTVR) – More than one week after a woman was hit and killed riding her bike on River Road, a grand jury will meet Monday to consider charges against the man who – police sources said – admitted to driving the SUV that hit her.

Eli Webb, 30, told police he was driving the SUV that struck and killed Lanie Kruszewski, 24, the night of July 29. Police sources told CBS 6 Webb said he did not stop after hitting Kruszewski because he thought he had hit a deer, not a person.

CBS 6 Legal Analyst Todd Stone called presenting the case to the grand jury one of the first steps in the judicial process. he said jurors would ultimately decide if there was enough evidence to charge Webb with a hit-and-run or a manslaughter charge.

“The prosecutor can not prove that he [Webb] knew he hit a deer versus a person, it really doesn’t matter,” said Stone. “The burden is so low, if there’s enough evidence that he was the driver of the car and that he left the scene, a grand jury would very likely indict the case and that would be the accusations and that’s the beginning of the criminal justice process.”

Stone said if a grand jury were to indict Webb, he would then go before a judge to have his court date set. During that hearing, Webb would have to request either a bench (judge) trial or a jury trial.